Your Network is Your Net Worth
Before I jump into this topic I want to preface by acknowledging that having a network is a privilege that is not experienced equally amongst professionals. Socioeconomic status, race, where you live/grew up, nepotism -etc. all these can either leave a positive or negative impact on your ability to successfully network. If anyone has tips/resources for under-represented or under-privileged groups, please reach out to me so I can include those in this article.
It’s not a new ideology - ‘it’s not about what you know, but who you know’. Regardless, I want to share my personal experience with building my network from scratch and provide context on how to apply this to your personal career journey.
My network really ranges from several buckets - personal friends/family, those I met at school/university, then those I met through work. Prior to corporate/tech my professional network consisted of those who I worked with at Nordstrom while on the floor selling Men’s clothing - and my network of people in tech was basically one friend. The first corporate role I landed in tech was from a referral of that ‘one friend’, I was incredibly fortunate to have someone that thought of me when a role came up at their organization, advocated for me and ultimately helped me land an interview. As my career progressed as a BDR I then too reached out to my peers or even sometimes people I met at random who left a positive impression on me, that lead me to believe they may be suited for a role I was hiring for. Whether you’re just looking to land a corporate role, receive a promotion or apply externally - every interaction you have with others contributes to your network ‘net-worth’. Think of these interactions as deposits into a bank, little by little. Nurture the network you have and don’t be afraid to branch out and extend your network with the types of people you want to have in it. I don’t mean to say you do this in a disingenuous way or to be inauthentic - but have the consciousness to realize that you really never know who may tap you on the shoulder to recruit you or advocate for you behind closed doors.
“Every interaction you have with others contributes to your network net-worth.”
You won’t always have the luxury of leveraging someone in your network to help you land an interview, however these tips and intentions are meant to be proactive in helping you build the back channel of advocates that will open new opportunities you hadn’t envisioned or knew existed - maybe even ones that are not yet open to the public. This is a long term proactive play.
For those of you who are actually happy in the roles you have - all of this is still incredibly relevant to you. You should always be nurturing your network. That doesn’t always mean attending network happy hours - in practicality these are oftentimes the team huddles you join where you’re in front of cross-functional colleagues and they hear you articulate how you’re critically thinking about your business, the value you’re adding to what they care about & seeing how you command the room. Those people may run across an opportunity in the future and if you left a positive impression, they may throw your name in the hat or reach out for a specific opportunity that arises. If you’re intentional about the professional ‘brand’ you’re putting out into the world - it could very well play to your advantage when you’re not expecting it.
Networking can also become somewhat of a snowball effect. Here’s an example where that happened to me. Back in 2021 I worked with an organization called 81 cents, their purpose is to vet candidates, connect them with individuals across similar roles/industries and transparently share with you their views on your compensation package relative to market rate. Through this I was connected to someone I now consider a friend and mentor, Jimmy. In one of our one on ones he'd referred me to an organization known as Pavilion, where high-growth leaders teach and network with other high-growth leaders in fast growing companies. This referral expanded my networking size from a pool to the ocean. As I began to speak with other members and take courses - I suddenly found myself getting connected with opportunities from finding rock star candidates to potential job offers.
I challenge you to set an intention to seek out one genuine, new connection to add into your network each month. Get to know this person - what value could they add to your professional career and equally/more important, how can you do the same for them?
Let me know your thoughts on this article. Anything you’d add?
LinkedIn Study - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/85-people-land-job-through-networking-strategies-tips-searching-/
81 Cents - https://www.81cents.com/